Shelling Those Pecans

November 29, 2000|By Knight-Ridder/Tribune.

Pecans in the shell usually sell for much less than shelled. So it pays to crack your own.

We tested three common tools:

- The hinged-tong style. The simplest cracker. It's the easiest to use: Just place a nut in the V-shape and squeeze. But it's hard to control how hard you crush. You'll get fragments, and a tired hand.

- The screw-down style. Shaped like a metal pecan with a screw, this is slower, because you have to open the screw wide to put in the nut, then screw it back down. You can control how hard you crush, but you'll usually get fragments and you may have to pry away unbroken shell. Because you have to hold your hand over the nut to keep it in place, it can also make for a sore palm.

- The lever style. Usually sold as the Reed's Rocket, although there are other varieties, including ones with rubber bands. It's the priciest (we paid $14.95 at a hardware store), but it's also the best. Adjustable for different size nuts, we usually got one half and some fragments. Make sure you hold your hand over the nut; pieces of shell really will rocket away.

- The hot water method. Commercial shellers use steam to soften nut shells. You can do something similar: Cover the nuts with cold water in saucepan, then heat to a boil. Remove from heat, let stand about 10 minutes, then pour off the water and let cool. The hot water softens the shell slightly, and it also plumps nuts that are a little dry. But make sure you crack them right away: Wet nuts can mold.